Summer Sports - Cricket
the moment I have seven sheets on my square and run ups - each sheet measuring 80x40 feet plus six mobile wheeled covers. We also have two 80x40 sheets down in our net area.”
“Pitch renovation is most important as I have to get each used pitch back as soon as possible to use again later in the season,” commented Andy. “This is always a battle as, no sooner does the new seed come up, we will have another four day game where the square has to be kept dry and the new grass perishes in the sun. I tend not to have weekly/monthly regimes as whatever work is undertaken is dictated by what cricket is being played. My pitch prep can vary, from taking five weeks in February to March to produce a decent playing surface, to twelve or thirteen days in the height of summer.” “Sometimes, I will have four or five pitches on the go at once, all in varying states of preparation. I am a bit of a traditionalist (some would say dinosaur) when it comes to kit… I still use an old Sisis rake when clearing out my pitches of any thatch prior to rolling, and we also have a couple of Sisis Autorakes which we use for cleaning out pitches and pitch renovation. We have two Auto-rollers for pitch preparation - one stays permanently in the net area throughout the cricket season - and we also have two
“ Top LCCC batsman Josh Cobb
Allett Shavers (one for each area) and two Ransomes Auto Certes for cutting the square and net area. We have two 36” ride on outfield mowers for cutting the outfield and a John Deere triple mower for the outfield when we are short of time. We also have a Sisis 600 for end of season renovation to work alongside our two Sisis scarifiers. I have never really bothered too much with cutting heights; most of the time the head coach will request whether to leave the grass on or off the match pitch depending on the
I am now involved in meetings that discuss the ground and pitches etc. which, believe it or not, the groundsman never sat in on before
opposition. I scarify the square regularly using a brush and tine combination; it is always a battle to keep on top of the annual meadow grass.”
After the season has come to an end (if not before), Andy’s aim is to take out as much of the old grass as possible by scarifying in numerous directions and finishing off with a mechanical brush. The equipment for this work extends to three pedestrian machines alongside the two Sisis Autorakes and the Sisis 600. They overseed with R9 grass seed using a cyclone spreader to apply the seed. Last year, Andy scarified and overseeded the majority of the square before the season ended, which gave him a head start in terms of germination, and he topdressed
PC JUNE/JULY 2014 I 83
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